Strap fastener and tightener for trunks



(No Model.)

G. SPARKS. STRAP FASTENER AND TIGHTENER FOB. TRUNKS, 860.

No. 402,776. Patented May 7, 1889.

PETERS, mwulm m. Wlihinglon. n. c,

NITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES SPARKS, OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

STRAP FASTENER AND TIGHTENER FOR TRUNKS, 84.0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 402,776, dated May 7, 1889. Application filed February 14, 1889- Serial No, 299,874. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES SPARKS, of Sacramento, Sacramento county, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Strap Fasten ers and Tighteners; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to the class of fasten.- ers especially adapted for securing and tightening up the ends of straps for trunks, boxes, &c., and other straps, bands, and clamps for various purposes; and my invention consists, essentially, in a bar to which the opposing ends of the strap or band are secured, said bar being adapted to be rotated axially, whereby it rolls up the ends of the strap or band.

My invention consists, further, in connection with said bar for securing and tightening the strap or band, of a key for holding the bar in the position to which it is adjusted, and also, in cases where found desirable, of a bracket forming a bearing for the axially rotary bar, all of which, together with details of construction and arrangement, I shall hereinafter fully describe.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and effective fastening and tightener for bands and straps of all kinds. It is especially applicable for securing and tightening the straps of trunks or boxes, especially of metal straps and bands, though it is also applicable to tightening and holding clamping-bands, which secure the metal couplings in the adjacent ends of hose.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanation of the same, Figure 1 is a view of my device applied to a box or case. Fig. 2 is a modification of my device. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the axially rotary bar C, showing the engagement of the strap ends therewith. Fig. 4 is aview of the bar C and its key. Fig. 5 is a view of a modified bar.

A is a strap or band, which may be made of any suitable materialas, for example, iron. This band encircles a box, case, or trunk, B. C is a bar having made through its central portion a slot or opening, 0. The ends of the bar are provided with holes 0', which terminate in keyways 0 In using this fastener one end of the band or strap A is put through the slot or aperture 0 of the bar C, and its end is slightly bent into a hook shape, so as to engage the edge of said slot or aperture. The other end of the strap or band A is put through the same slot or aperture from the opposite direction, and as far as possible. A spanner such as is shown in Fig. 1, and represented by D, is now fitted to the end holes of the bar C, and said bar is rotated axially, thereby winding up the ends of the bar or strap upon itself and tightening it. This rotary movement of the bar is carried on until the strap or band is as tight as is desired, and when this pointhas been reached thekey E is fitted to the keyways c of the bar. This key is in the form of a bail or staple, and while its legs are fitted to the keyways its body extends across the band or strap, thereby preventing the bar from unrolling.

The keyways c are so arranged with relation to the holes a, which receive the legs of the spanner, as to enable the key to be placed in position while the spanner is still in its seat, thereby lockin g the bar and allowing the spanner to be removed and placed in a fresh position, so as to give the bar another partial revolution, whereupon the key is taken out and placed in a fresh seat, and the operation continues thus until the strap or band has been sufliciently tightened, and the key is then left in place, so that the fastening is held securely.

I do not confine myself to this particula form of key shown, as I may use a modification of the bar and another key, as I shall now explain by reference to Fig. 2.

The bar 0 is here shown as provided on one end with a squared portion, 0 to receive an ordinary wrench. It has also a number of grooves, 0 in its ends, forming keyways. The bar is mounted in the sides of the fiat-bottomed bracket F, the sides of which are provided with grooves f, forming keyways which correspond to the grooved keyways c of the bar. 'A pin, G, is passed through the keyways of the bracket and through the keygrooves c of the bar, and thus holds the bar in the position to which it is turned.

In some cases, as I show in Fig. 5, I may adapt the bar for use either as shown in Fig. 1 or as shown in Fig. 2 by simply providing it with both forms of keyway-that is to say, the grooves c" and the holes in its ends-so that by this construction I can use it either in connection with the bracket and the straight pin which forms the key or without the bracket and in connection with the bailshaped key of Fig. 1.

Although I have here shown a case or box or trunk as the article to which the application of the band or strap is made, I do not confine myself to this use of the fastening, as I have found it very useful in cases of fastening the clamping-bands by which the metal couplings of hose are secured in the ends of the hose. The bands in this case are made of strips of metal, and the fastening may be constructed and applied to them in precisely the same manner as heretofore described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a strap fastener and tightener, an axially rotary bar with which the adjacent ends of the strap engage, whereby as said bar is rotated the ends of the strap are wound upon it, in combination with a removable key engaging the bar and holding it in the position to which it is moved, substantially as described.

2. In a strap fastener and tightener, the combination of an axially rotary bar having a longitudinal slot, through which the adjacent ends of the strap pass from opposite direc tions, whereby as said bar is rotated the ends of the strap are wound upon it, and a key engaging the bar for holding it in the position to which it is moved, substantially as de scribed.

3. In a strap fastener and tightener, the combination of an axially rotary bar with which the adjacent ends of the strap engage, whereby as said bar is rotated the ends of the strap are wound thereon, and a bail-shaped key, the ends of which are adapted to enter keyways in the ends of the bar and the body of which passes over the strap, thereby holding the bar in the position to which it is mounted, substantially as described.

4. In a strap fastener-and tightener, the combination of an axially rotary bar having a slot or aperture in its body and keyways in its ends, said slot or aperture receiving the adjacent ends of the strap from opposite directions, whereby as said bar is rotated the strap is wound thereon, and the bail-shaped key, the ends of which fit the keyways in the ends of the bar and the body of which passes across the strap, whereby the bar is held in the position to which it is moved, substantially as described.

5. In a strap fastener and tightener, the combination of an axially rotary bar having its ends perforated and adapted to receive a wrench or spanner by which it may be rotated, keyways in its ends and a slot or' aperture in its body for receiving the ends of the strap from opposite directions, whereby as said bar is rotated the strap is wound thereon, and a key for fitting the keyways and holding the bar in the position to which it is moved, substantially as described.

6. In a strap fastener and tightener, the combination of the bracket having keyways, the axially rotary bar mounted in the bracket, and having keyways in its ends and a slot or aperture in its body for receiving the ends of the strap, and a key fitting the keyways of the bracket and bar, whereby the bar is held in the position to which it is adjusted, substantially as described.

7. The axially rotary bar of a strap fastener and tightener, having a slot in its body, grooves in its ends, forming keyways, and holes thereon, also forming keyways, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES SPARKS.

\Vitnesses:

H. NoURsE, J. H. 131.001). 

